Baltimore City is going to federal court on Thursday to fight for sex education funding.
The lawsuit is against the Department of Health after funding for the city's Teen Pregnancy Prevention Program was abruptly cut off.
Baltimore City Health Commissioner Dr. Leana Wen said, “This cut is shocking an unprecedented,” she continued to say there’s been a 61 percent drop in teen birth rates from 2000 to 2016.
The five-year grant still had $3.5 million and two years left, but the city's health department was told last July the grant would be terminated early. This would cut funding for things like birth control and health education.
"The loss of this funding means that we will not be able to test this app for the Spanish speaking population who in fact have the highest rate of teen pregnancy across this country,” said Paluzzi. “It also means the loss of a mechanism of delivery that is very much in concert with what young people are doing today in order to get their information."
The cut in funding will reduce access to evidence-based teen pregnancy classes for 20,000 students.
